A litany of complaints, but no penalty for Cullen

February 15, 2004|By Joe McDermott Of The Morning Call

Despite numerous complaints from co-workers and former employers about nurse Charles Cullen over the past five years, the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing took no disciplinary action against him until he was charged with murder in New Jersey.

The nursing board, which falls under the Department of State's Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs, will not even confirm that complaints were filed against him.

In addition to the nurses who said they contacted the board with their concerns after Cullen left St. Luke's Hospital in June 2002, St. Luke's said it asked the board in September 2002 to review Cullen's actions regarding diverted heart and blood pressure medicines.

Nursing board spokesman Brian McDonald declined to comment on the St. Luke's statement.

Officials at Liberty Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Allentown, who fired Cullen in October 1998 for failing to follow procedures on medicines, say they notified the state Health Department about an incident involving Cullen.

Health Department spokesman Richard McGarvey said any reports filed with the department remain confidential. But it is standard practice for the department to advise the person making the report to contact the nursing board, he said.

In some cases the department also will pass along the report to the nursing board, McGarvey said.

The Pennsylvania board voted Dec. 19 to temporarily suspend Cullen's license, and in January the board moved to permanently revoke it.

A timeline provided by St. Luke's indicates the board began a probe in October 2002 into allegations Cullen hid heart and blood pressure medicines on two consecutive days in June 2002. What remains unknown is how far the probe extended.

The probe apparently did not uncover Cullen's 1993 conviction for breaking into a co-worker's Palmer Township home. The conviction could have resulted in a denial of the renewal, according to board standards.

Cullen's alleged activities appear to violate several nursing conduct standards in the licensing law. The law requires a registered nurse to "act to safeguard the patient from incompetent, abusive of illegal practice of any individual" and "document and maintain accurate records."

According to those standards, a nurse may not "misappropriate equipment, materials, property, drugs or money from an employer or patient" or "falsify or knowingly make incorrect entries into the patient's record or other related documents."

Allegations against Cullen indicate he may have violated the conduct code if he hid the heart and blood pressure medicines at St. Luke's and injured a patient at Liberty, as a former Liberty nurse contends.

The law requires the board to maintain records of all reported alleged violations and periodically review those allegations to determine that "each has been resolved in a timely manner."

McDonald said the board received 1,187 complaints last year. A legal assistant in the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs reviews each complaint and a prosecuting attorney is assigned for further action.

The bureau has about 40 to 50 investigators in six offices.The board approved 244 disciplinary actions between Jan. 6 and Dec. 31, 2003. In 2002 the board took 196 disciplinary actions against nurses.